OSL painting

thewhitehand · **Joined:** Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:03 pm **Posts:** 129

Hello

If you've seen my WIP thread, you'll know I'm painting Frodo at the minute, and if you haven't, well you know now :lol:

Anyway, I almost have him done, just need to highlight the hair and then do his sword. What I'm currently thinking about is doing an OSL technique on Sting. Not massive intensity, but a bit. But I haven't done this before, so I'm really nervous that if I try it I'll just mess up the model

So is there any tips on how to do OSL well?

Thanks

Dead Marsh Spectre · **Posted:** Fri Jul 13, 2012 6:19 pm

The best tip I can give you is to know the colour and area you want to do the OSL on at the start of painting your miniature as you can start adding the effect into your basecoats. It really is quite difficult to paint a model and then try to add the OSL highlight over the top. Its not impossible to do this but its extremely hard.

If your miniature is painted already and you want to add the effect you have 2 choices - subtly drybrush the effect in stages lightening the shade little more each time or water paint down and attempt to stain the area in this way start light and darken as you go.

Hope this helps and good luck i look forward to seeing the result.

johnny189 · **Joined:** Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:19 pm **Posts:** 78

What is OSL?

Dead Marsh Spectre · **Posted:** Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:47 pm

Object Source Lighting - for instance the glow on someones face from a campfire

Ring_of_Gyges · **Posted:** Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:58 pm

johnny189 wrote:

What is OSL?

This is a great example from "coolminiornot", the reflection of the fire on the dreadnaught and the flyer. In reality fire emits light, in miniature it doesn't, OSL is an attempt to make up the difference.

Purplesounds · **Joined:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:03 pm **Posts:** 44

I did that to my Frodo I painted. I did it a long time ago so I don't recall how I did it. You could look at my Progress log to have a reference guide. I belive it's titled Purplesounds something or another. D.M.S.'s advice seems pretty sound. Good luck! I hope it turns out great.

thewhitehand · **Joined:** Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:03 pm **Posts:** 129

Quote:

You could look at my Progress log to have a reference guide.

Hey Purplesounds, I checked out your WIP and I love your Fellowship, they look great! :yay:

The OSl effect on Frodo is just what I'm looking for. Can you please give me any tips on how you did it? Thanks

And of course thanks to everyone else too

Damian · **Joined:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:59 pm **Posts:** 192

The eyes on my WK's horse in the last painting challenge were my 1st attempt at OSL. I used thinned down paint as a glaze to build colour up from dark to light. I wouldn't drybrush, it always looks a bit scratchy to me. The crucial thing is to identify your source (in my case, the middle of the horse's eye) and make sure that is the brightest part, don't be afraid to go all the way to pure or almost pure white, make sure that the intensity fades as you move away from the source, that ridges catch the light and areas that would be hidden from the source don't, and finally, make your layers translucent so the underlying colours show through.
That's the theory anyway......you can look at my Witch King to see if I succeeded or not. :-D

Purplesounds · **Joined:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:03 pm **Posts:** 44

I honestly don't recall. I PROBABLY started with a watered down blue and then went into a sky blue and then finally into a white. Make sure to layer each layer where a bit of the previous layer could show through. Each layer you go should become more and more opaque. Be sure that you only illuminate what the object could "see" from its position. Also include some glow on your base to tie the whole miniature together. Sorry I couldn't be more specific.

OSL painting

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